Germany has a 'massive problem' that has knocked almost all of its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets out of commission

A German Eurofighter Typhoon takes off from Amari air base, Estonia, March 2, 2017.

source

Thomson Reuters

The vast majority of German Eurofighter Typhoon fighter
jets are reportedly not combat ready.

It's the latest report of deficiencies knocking German
military equipment out of commission.

Germany's military has been plagued with such problems,
and the government is debating whether to increase the defense
budget to address them.

The German air force is dealing with a "massive problem" that has left
all but four of its 128 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets
unavailable for combat missions, according to a May 2 report by
German news outlet Spiegel.

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German engineers are worried about the jets' DASS defense system, which warns pilots of
potential attack, because of cooling liquid seen leaking from the
wingtip pod that contains sensors. The problem appeared about six
months ago.

The problem centers on a specific component, called a "grease nipple," that is part
of the system that cools the wingtip pods. Technicians were able
to replace the malfunctioning pods, according to Spiegel, but
supplies of the component are limited because the primary
supplier needs to be recertified after a change in its ownership.

Without that system, the jets aren't able to carry out missions.
At the moment, according to the report, only
about 10 of German's Typhoons are able to start missions.

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The Luftwaffe's Eurofighter readiness issues are compounded
by a lack of air-combat missiles. Because of that shortfall, only
four of the fighters are currently ready for combat missions,
according to Spiegel.

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A German Eurofighter Typhoon taxis at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, June 11, 2012.

source

Tech Sgt. Michael Holzworth

German officials disputed the report.

Defence Ministry spokesman Col. Holger Neumann said the air force could meet
its military requirements despite the issue with components
needed for the self-protection system and that the military hoped
to resolve the component issue in the near future.

"We hope to get this problem under control in several weeks
or months," Neumann said, declining to say how many Eurofighters
had been affected by the lack of spare parts. The Defense
Ministry did say that the supply problem could make existing
problems with the fighters' readiness worse, but did not
elaborate.

Sources with knowledge of the issue also denied that only 10
Eurofighter jets were available for the Luftwaffe, pointing out
that at least 14 jets are currently in service around the world.

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German army personnel board an air force Airbus A400M aircraft at a Bundeswehr air base in Jagel, northern Germany, December 10, 2015.

source

REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

Spiegel also described German
government statements about fighter readiness as misleading.

The Luftwaffe counts all Eurofighter jets that are able to fly as
available, including ones without functioning self-defense
systems, according to the report.

Those jets can be used for training but not for NATO operations
like air-policing missions over eastern Europe.

Germany has also registered 82 Eurofighters with NATO's High
Readiness Force and Force of Lower Readiness.

Those designations put the fighters at NATO's disposal within certain
periods. For the HRF, the fighters should be available in between
zero and 90 days. FLR assets should be available in between 91
and 180 days.

But, according to Spiegel, since there are no current operational
requests, Germany can say its forces are in compliance with NATO
obligations.

"We can say with a good conscience that large parts of the force
are ready for use because there is currently no mission," a
source told Spiegel.

Equipment shortages and hardware problems

The issues facing the Eurofighters are not Germany's only
military-readiness problem - they're not even German's only
fighter-jet problem.

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German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen in front of a Tornado aircraft during a visit to the German airbase in Jagel, near the German-Danish border, August 17, 2016.

source

REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

A report seen by Spiegel at the end of March found that
Germany's Tornado fighter jets may not be able to join NATO
missions because of technological deficiencies - including a
lack of NATO friend-or-foe identification systems meant to
prevent the alliance's jets from engaging each other.

Elsewhere in the German air force, only five of 16 A400M
transport planes were ready for use as of February, and previous
reports have found numerous issues with the
service's fighters. None of the German navy's six submarines
are combat-ready and just nine
of 15 frigates are in full service. Moreover, only 95 of the army's 244
tanks are operational.

The issues stem in part from Germany's military and defense
budget, which has steadily fallen since the end of the Cold
War.

Berlin also drew down its forces in 2011
to focus on asymmetrical warfare. German troop numbers have
shrunk - some 21,000 officer positions are vacant, which adds to
readiness woes. It reversed course years later, in response to
Russian action in Ukraine and renewed concerns about conventional
warfare, but much of the equipment it shed has to be
reacquired.

'Germany isolates itself'

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets German military personnel at an army barracks in Leer, Ostfriesland, Germany, December 7, 2015.

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REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

German's military budget has become one of the first
internal disputes for the new coalition government headed by
Angela Merkel, who leads the conservative Christian Democratic
Union.

Olaf Scholz, the new finance minister from the CDU's junior
coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, presented a 2018
budget that only offered the Defense
Ministry half the money it requested, focusing instead on
domestic measures and seeking to avoid additional debt.

Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Development Minister
Gerd Muller both submitted written objections about the budget.
Von der Leyen wants to shift the German
military's focus to national and international security, turning
away from the past decade's emphasis on overseas deployment.

The budget clash highlights the differing views on defense
strategy held by the CDU and the SDP.

"Germany isolates itself with such an emphasis on domestic
issues," Christian Mölling, an analyst with the German Council on
Foreign Relations, told Defense News. "We see
here the left wing of the SPD pushing its positions."